Crazy Brake Prices!!!! WTF

50921 Views 73 Replies 43 Participants Last post by lowrider, Jul 18, 2013

UNK

Discussion Starter · Sep 21, 2009

So, I just found out that my front brakes squeak like hell because they need to be replaced. The car only has 8600 miles on it and is 8 months old and apparently I have almost no brakes left, keep in mind I do not drive crazy..... My service guy quoted me on new brake pads and rotors for the front at $1300 with a discount because im a good customer... Normally should be around 1500-1700.... Is this normal? Im thinking about getting rid of the F just because he told me I will need to change the brakes every 8-10 months. That's insane!!!!!!!! Am I getting raped? Any info would help, especially if you've changed your brakes already.... THANKS

21 - 40 of 74 Posts

swisstimezone

· #21 · Oct 18, 2009

Direct quote from Lexus

High-friction brakes are standard equipment for the front brakes only and require periodic inspection and measurement as outlined in the Warranty and Services Guide. The pads and rotors are expected to experience greater wear than conventional brakes. Pad life "may" be less than 20,000 miles, and brake rotor life may be less than 50,000 miles depending on driving conditions.

So WHY are Babied vehicles needing brake pads and ROTORS at 8000 to 10000 miles?

Fig

· #22 · Oct 18, 2009 (Edited)

I have some hard numbers to share with all of you from today. I did a pad inspection on my vehicle with 18K miles. Here are the results.
Driver's side outer measured thickness 0.265"
Driver's side inner measured thickness 0.250"
Squeal warning tab measured 0.100"
New Hawk HPS measured 0.375"

My conclusion is that your dealers are either unfamiliar with how to measure pad wear on these pads, want to take your money, or you have not babies the car as much as you lead on. I am only 1/3 through the total pad thickness and my guess would be I could carry these pads out to 30K no problem. I drive my car pretty hard, I did not get to the track this year but I would anticipate track driving would wear these out at a higher rate. The brake inspection took only 30-40 minutes, these pads slide right out, one nut, two spring pins and a little pressure on the pistons to free them up.

I had expected more wear and I was going to swap in my hawk HPS, but I think I will do new rotors at the same time and let these runout a little more. I am pretty picky about proper bed-in and would prefer a fresh surface to evauate the new pad compound. Here are the pics.

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Fig

· #23 · Oct 18, 2009

UCrazyKid said:
From what I have seen it looks like for stock fitment Raybestos is the only other rotor option, and not a bad one at that.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1442132,parttype,1896,a,Ad+Code+www.google.com+

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1792332

Yeah those look great and I will probably pick up a set. I was thinking more on tehlines of developing my own 2-peice rotors with Racing brake again, but it looks like the largest ring they have is 355 and the ISF is 360mm. which is a real bummer

lowrider

· #24 · Oct 18, 2009

Fig, thanks for sharing

micaISF

· #25 · Oct 24, 2009

swisstimezone said:
High-friction brakes are standard equipment for the front brakes only and require periodic inspection and measurement as outlined in the Warranty and Services Guide. The pads and rotors are expected to experience greater wear than conventional brakes. Pad life "may" be less than 20,000 miles, and brake rotor life may be less than 50,000 miles depending on driving conditions.

So WHY are Babied vehicles needing brake pads and ROTORS at 8000 to 10000 miles?

have you considered the possibility that maybe the dealer had been lying, incompetent or both? my tire dealer lied to me last week that i needed new front tires which have about 50% of the tread left. many business people are no different from predators and some of them are incompetent on top of that.

2URGSE

· #26 · Dec 18, 2009

OP: Check into rotors from StopTech and DBA with a different set of pads.

Comming from the Subaru STi world, that car uses a 4 piston Brembo brakes on the front and it's the same deal, people getting quoted crazy prices for replacements.

The truth of the matter, you can get some aftermarket rotors (brands I just mentioned) with great pads, and even upgrade to stainless steel brake lines for less than $1000.

The Brembo stuff is EXPENSIVE, especially from the dealership. Don't panic and sell the car because of what the dealer quoted you, just research it out and you'll find great alternatives.

* If you're doing Stainless Steel brake lines upgrade, make sure to check what brake fluid your car calls for before swapping fluids with aftermarket fluids. Different brake systems have different needs.

Peleg.

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2URGSE

· #27 · Dec 18, 2009

I might have to take my words back, after some searching, doesn't seem any aftermarket companies have made rotors for the ISF yet.

StopTech, are you reading this????

UCrazyKid

· #28 · Dec 18, 2009

Peleg said:
I might have to take my words back, after some searching, doesn't seem any aftermarket companies have made rotors for the ISF yet.

StopTech, are you reading this????

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1442132,parttype,1896,a,Ad+Code+www.google.com+

^^ rotors for ISF $108

2URGSE

· #29 · Dec 19, 2009

UCrazyKid said:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1442132,parttype,1896,a,Ad+Code+www.google.com+

^^ rotors for ISF $108

Very cool.

How is the quality?

* See that you're in NorCal, where abouts?

infinus

· #30 · Dec 19, 2009

From my experiences the dealers usually are overeager on replacing parts but so far I haven't used my local dealer yet so we'll see.

IsFly168

· #31 · Dec 19, 2009

I love how everyone claims they dont drive their car hard but yet they need pads and rotors at less than 10k... Either they are hallucinating on the way they drive or their dealer is trying to lie their azz off and trying to rip everyone off. Seriously, I do alot of local driving and my F has 7300 miles on it now and I am nowhere near needing pads... And trust me, I dont drive like grandpa....

JSGarrett76

· #32 · Dec 19, 2009

I agree with IsFly168. I drive mostly in Sport with the paddles, and am at roughly 20K miles. I just had my 20K service done today and have 50% life on both front and back pads. And trust me, I get on it a lot.

infinus

· #33 · Dec 19, 2009

I blame LA traffic

pdobey

· #34 · Dec 19, 2009

Last time I checked... Lexus is a premium car... Brembo is a premium Brake product...
Check the pricing on Porsche / Ferrari / Lambo / Corvette Z06 parts and service.
You get what you pay for unless you do the work yourself...
Welcome to the real world of high performance...
You play... You pay! Wait until you have to replace your tires...

LukeISF

· #35 · Dec 19, 2009

I have 30,000 miles on mine and was just told they measured 3/7 and said I should replace pad. They said nothing about rotors but am pretty sure if i was to get the pads done with them they will surely recommend their 330 doolar each rotors which is funney since I called a different dealer and both pads and rotors were cheaper. so if someone could recommend a different pad and rotor that are equal to oem. I am debating on ferodo or hawk performance ceramic but seen the post about the ones that burnt the rotors. was wondering if it was just cheap ceramics. need more info

2URGSE

· #36 · Dec 24, 2009

The prices may vary.

Brembo stuff is expensive. Like it was said, welcome to the world of high performance.

jasonl

· #37 · Feb 28, 2010

u can check tire rack for hp plus pads they work pretty good for me so far

matadorBP2

· #38 · Feb 28, 2010

I just got my ISF used, and brakes squeaked a little, but went in and was super nice to the service writer at Lexus of Tacoma, here in WA, and the car had just over 14k miles, they replaced front and rear pads and resurfaced the rotors under warranty. I bought the guy a case of beer and said thanks, that was it. I had 3 mil left and he said they were right on the cusp of being to low to warranty, but pushed it through for me. I dont know if thats normal, or if they did it because i asked, but i would try it before paying for it lol.

AuroraISF

· #39 · Mar 10, 2010

38,000 miles on brakes and counting

Now at 38,000 miles on original pads here in Toronto. Granted I run a lot of highway miles but we have our share of traffic.

mani

· #40 · Mar 11, 2010

Damn ... This thread is scary !!!

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